Dia de Los Muertos

Scared of the dead? You shouldn’t be. Did you know throughout Mexico they celebrate the day of the dead? They call it Dia De Los Muertos. On This holiday, they celebrate the passing of their loved ones. In United States, on October 31 we celebrate Halloween, this day we dress up on our most scariest costume, trick-or-treat for candies, and scare others just for the fun of it. They say it’s the day where the dead rise, maybe that’s why most people are afraid of this day.

In Mexico, this holiday occurs on the day of October 31 and ending on November 2. They have believed that on October 31 the gates of heaven and let the souls of the children roam on Earth on November 1. Then on November 2, they once again open the gates for the adults to roam on Earth. The celebration of Dia De Los Muertos may take years of planning or maybe shorter. This day, they believed that the soul comes back and visit their loved ones. They also believe that even if they don’t see their beloved that had passed away, they can surely feel their presence. To the family, it is very important to them because this day, the family reunites and honors their loved ones that had passed away and ancestors.

In my opinion, I find this holiday really interesting. For one reason, this celebration dated way back to pre-Hispanic cultures of Mesoamerica, in the region of Nahu more than 3,000 years ago. It all started after the Spaniards and it lasted for almost 5 centuries later. In the Nahu region, there are the Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltecs, ChiChimecs, and Tecpanec. For the Aztecs they celebrate the death of each king or ruler. They also honor or dedicate Dia de Los Muertos to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. After centuries of long celebration and unchange trad...

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...o them, it’s as if they never really had gone away and they know that even if they don’t see them, can feel their soul around them. As this holiday comes, they begin to plan of what they’re going to prepare. Will all the effort and dedication they put in preparing this holiday, I can tell that this day is important to them because they know it’s the only time they get to spend their time with their loved ones. Especially this day because it’s when the gates in heaven only opens. I really do respect their traditions and beliefs and it’s something I understand because I can almost relate and believe the things they do. Dia De Los Muertos is a time of celebration on remembrance of those who lost their lives. We should not fear death or the souls of our loved ones,“Rather than deny and fear death, this even teaches us to accept and contemplate the meaning of mortality.”